Newey downplays RB3 expectations

The final design drawing on the new RB3 was finished on Friday and the car, which will be fired up for the first time next Wednesday, will be officially launched at Barcelona in Spain on January 26.

And although Newey's input and the team's switch to Renault power has left the outfit on the verge of a major step forward in pace this year, the man himself wants to take a more low key approach to the season.

"Unfortunately I think expectations do seem to be quite high, which is a shame," said Newey on the central stage at Autosport International Show on Sunday.

"I would much rather sort of go in in a fairly low key way, and if we do better than expected then that is great.

"We are still a young team and that means some of our infrastructure and our resources are not as good as some of the more established teams, so how much that will hold us back?

"If that sounds like an excuse it is not meant to be, it is a fact. I think we have the basic structure and basic facilities to do a decent job this year and then try and build it from there."

Newey admitted that the team were facing a major case of catch-up after the disappointment of last season, where they suffered a setback after losing valuable pre-season testing time because of cooling issues with the RB2.

"We are doing a lot of catch-up, and certainly 2006 for Red Bull was quite a weak year," admitted Newey. "In my experience that is quite an established thing, a team quite often come in the first year, 2005 in Red Bull's case, they do better than expected and then they seem to flounder around a little in the second year.

"The car had various problems and from mid-season we decided that since we were clearly not going to be truly competitive in 2006 we would concentrate our efforts on the 2007 car, so that meant a further tail off towards the end of the year. But we are keen to turn it around for this year."

And, as expected, Newey has confirmed that the RB3 will have virtually no carry over parts from last year's Ferrari-powered RB2.

"Yeah, I think it really is the brake pedal or something that is the only common part. It is a totally new car.

"We have got a mixture of new people. We have got a new chief designer and he has brought with him his ideas, and a new aerodynamicist, Peter Prodromou, who joined in November but has not had really had a chance to influence the car just yet.

"With some fresh blood, coupled with the knowledge and experience of the engineers who are already there, then it is looking like a melting pot. It has been quite exciting and I hope that excitement will create a car that is quite fresh and will take us forwards."